Help Qb No Longer Throws A Good Spiral

I was trying to coach my son (who is 10) to throw well and everything was going great - good precision, good distance for his size, a very nice spiral. Suddently, when I was tickering his mechanics a bit further, everything felt apart and he seems to have loss the ability to throw a well aligned spiral. The precision and strong arm are still there but not the spiral.

What I did was just asking him to make sure the index finger was more involved in the last moment and the result is a faster spiral but the ball leaving his hand a little sideways. I think he is puting some lateral pressure in is index finger so the rear end of the ball is moved slighty in and the ball gets this akward, however subtile, angle which can pass unnoticed in up to 12 yds throws but becomes a pain in longer passes. The longer the passes the worse it gets. Most of the times the ball keeps angling in mid air until it loses all the gyroscopic effect and starts spinning randomly.

Problem is he seems completly unable to correct the problem.

Does anyone have a suggestion about any drills I can use to have him put the axis of the ball on the throwing trajectory again?

My experience as a coach, player or even football fan is weak to say the least. I live in Portugal, Europe and football here is basicly ignored as a sport.

I am not an expert on the art of throwing the football but a lot of it comes down to grip.

The key is to make sure the middle finger and the thumb are placed right below the white ring on the football, almost even with one another. The smaller fingers then grip the seams and the index finger gives the hand some stability behind the ball.

Keep the hand on the outside of the ball as you're going through the throwing motion. Releasing the ball properly is tough for a rookie, but keep in mind the follow through: rotate the thumb toward the opposite thigh, and make sure the inside of the index finger is the last piece of you touching the ball as you release it. Emphasize your whole body working together smoothly.

I am not an expert on the art of throwing the football but a lot of it comes down to grip.

The key is to make sure the middle finger and the thumb are placed right below the white ring on the football, almost even with one another. The smaller fingers then grip the seams and the index finger gives the hand some stability behind the ball.

Keep the hand on the outside of the ball as you're going through the throwing motion. Releasing the ball properly is tough for a rookie, but keep in mind the follow through: rotate the thumb toward the opposite thigh, and make sure the inside of the index finger is the last piece of you touching the ball as you release it. Emphasize your whole body working together smoothly.

Thanks Charlie.

When I read your post it looked much the common sense and general guidance you find around in the internet (however written with much more clarity).

Then I found a major point (I have not found elsewhere) that do seems to make the difference: "Keep the hand on the outside of the ball".

That was the big issue. The hand was being positioned below the ball and the wrist bent 90 degrees to suport it. By twisting the grip to have the hand in a much more vertical position the release becomes much more fluid. The ball is still coming a bit out of the line but much much less than before.

The greater news is that the rotation of the ball looks like it doubled its speed.

With a couple of practices he will fine tune this new grip.

It is very hard to find knowledge when you live in a no-football country. There are a few coaches here but they lack experience. I owe you a lot!